My girls won't roost at night!

[MrPaw]

Brand Name is Sweet PDZ...sold in the horse aisle at the farm stores.
It's the mineral zeolite which will absorb ammonia.

Thank you aart for defining this acronym.

 

[Jrpatt]

We have 8 girls, 4 breeds. They are 9 weeks old and have been in the coop for a month. They go into the coop at dusk no problem but they all pile in a corner at night, wrestling for position. Laying boxes are closed. Perches are 2x3's on flat.
I have tried to put them up on the perches at night but they don't like being picked up and it's quite a kerfuffle and they just jump back down. I have seen them up there in the day so I know they can get there. No one has said anything about them not wanting to be picked up. Is that not an issue for anyone else?

 

[aart]

No one has said anything about them not wanting to be picked up. Is that not an issue for anyone else?

Do they want to be picked up, no.
I wrap my hands around their bodies holding their wings down, place their feet firmly on the roost then let go with a little pat on the back.
Best done well after dark, and probably difficult to reach with your coop/roost setup.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My brooder-raised chicks generally don't roost at night until they are 10 to 12 weeks old. I've had some start just after 5 weeks but that's unusual. Like yours, mine can play up there during the day but they don't want to sleep up there until they get a little older. Until then they are quite happy to sleep in a group on the coop floor. I personally don't see any benefit to stressing me or them out about it, mine move up to the roosts to sleep at night when they want to.

It helps when moving them onto the roosts to have your coop really dark. So dark they can't see to hop back down. That may be hard for you to do with yours.

 

[Jrpatt]

At 12 weeks our girls are all now roosting. When they were still on the coop floor, wrestling to get into the corner, I turned on a red LED light in the coop one night and it seemed to calm them down. Next night I did the same thing and again, they were calmer. I put the light on a timer (7 til 9 pm) and after a couple of more nights I went out one night and they were all on the top roost. Perhaps it's coincidence, I can't say, but they're roosting and we're very pleased. They are no longer sleeping in their poop on the floor and the poop is all in the collection area below the roosts, sitting on top of dried grass, easy to collect. Our coop design is working as planned and we couldn't be happier.
Now we await the eggs.

 

[Banjo1]

Don’t feel bad I have six chickens they all go in the coop when it’s dark
All by themself.
Four of the chickens are isa browns the other two are Wyandotte
One isa brown and one Wyandotte will not roost I have for the last five nights had to put them on the roost
There’s plenty of room because two of the isa browns use a higher roost
The lower roost is above the nest boxes and four feet long it’s a 2x4 laying flat so the wide part of the board is what they roost on
They are all 21 weeks old and only one stated laying an egg every day
That one started laying at 19 weeks old .......should I keep placing those two birds (lol) on the roost at night ?........I have also blocked off the two nest boxes at night because they were sleeping in them .
Any help would be great
The coop is clean, I scoop out the poop every day and have sprinkled diatamacious earth in it to help keep it clean .
Any help ?

 

[Banjo1]

At my wits end
I have six 22 week old chickens four are isa browns two are wyandotes

Three isa browns roost at night And one Wyandotte’s
The Other two will not roost
For almost three weeks I go out after dark pick them up off the coop floor and put them on roost
The coop is new only 6 months old
I scoop out the poop every day it’s a sand floor.
Two of the hens started laying
They all go into the coop by themselves so that’s not a problem